Summary: To harbor anger is murder. To attempt to worship while you harbor anger is not just useless, it is Hypocrisy and In reality it is also blasphemy

A. A woman was taking her time browsing through everything at a friend's yard sale, and said to her, "My husband is going to be very angry I stopped at a yard sale." "I'm sure he'll understand when you tell him about all the bargains you found," her friend replied. "Normally, yes," she said. "But he just broke his leg, and he's waiting for me to take him to the hospital to have it set."

(Matthew 5:21-22 NKJV) "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' {22} "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.

1. The very first thing we need to know is just who our brother is

a. The first thought is a male sibling

(1) John Thomas Vary is my brother, he is the son of my mother and my father

(2) Marc Franklin Brown is my brother, he is the son of my mother, but not the son of my father, he is my half brother

b. How is it that you have the stupid audacity to disagree with me, you Raca, you empty head

4. Jesus uses the words in danger of

a. There is still the concept of reconciliation to consider, we will consider reconciliation in a while

b. He uses this phrase four times

(1) In danger of judgment in verse 21

(2) In danger of the council, judgment, and hell fire in verse 22

(3) This comes from Patsy Clairmont in Under His Wings Hurling humor like hand grenades is a popular sport. We think it's acceptable to pull the pin on our anger as long as we toss it in a casing of humor. The problem is it's still explosive, and someone ends up hurt. How many times have you heard or said, "I was only kidding?" If we have to defend our humor regularly, chances are we're not as funny as we think. A good humor rule is, if it hurts someone it isn't funny. Just because people are laughing doesn't mean what we said was appropriate. Don't use humor as a hideout from tender, honest relationships. A healthy sense of humor is a precious gift intended to promote good news, good health and goodwill.